


A Blessing and a Curse(ed Letter)

by TheGreatSylveon



Category: Goodnight Moon ASMR
Genre: Canon Universe, Dragons, Gen, Nightshade Witch, POV Original Character, family fic, how does one even tag, i just love them too much, now with bonus plot!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-01-26 04:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12548744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreatSylveon/pseuds/TheGreatSylveon
Summary: The Nightshade Witch gets put in charge of a child. What’s the worst that could happen? Evangeline and the tavern girl seem to have some ideas.Or: Some snapshots of growing up with the witch Belladonna Nightshade and co.My first fic, so please bear with me.





	1. Prologue

A scream split the night.

A figure, a woman, was running down a path through a dense forest, closely pursued by a torch-bearing mob of people dressed in peasant’s robes and patched dresses. As she ran, purple fire shot from her hands, twisting and singeing the robes of those closest behind her. However, her efforts proved fruitless as some fleet-footed villagers caught up to her, metal glinting from their hands.

The woman was run through in a second.

The villagers were too caught up in their jubilations at killing the woman to notice the baby she had left behind on the border of the path. 

And so, no one noticed when the whimpering baby, a girl, was swept up by a shadow that, just as suddenly, vanished into the darkness of the forest, far away from the receding torchlight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Willow Witch was not good with babies.

Oh, it was not for any lack of trying or care on her part, she just had no idea what to do with a small being that was incapable of communicating their desires. 

So when Belladonna Nightshade, her estranged sister, burst through her cottage door carrying a bundle containing a small, squirming child she was understandably confused.

“Bella, what”- Nightshade cut her off.  
“Rose is dead, Evangeline.”

Evangeline gaped, words failing her.

“Stop that. You look like a fish”, Bella admonished, still managing to look fearsome with a wiggling baby in her arms.

“And the baby?” asked Evangeline, regaining her voice.

“I will care for her”.  
“Belladonna Nightshade, are you sure you can care for a baby? You’re being hunted by the Queen’s guards every other month it seems for cursing some new unfortunate fellow, and since when did you know how to even look after someone else, especially a baby?” Evangeline was livid at this point, swelling to twice her normal stature. “I’m sure the tavern girl you get along with so well can-“  
“She is busy. _And remember:_ this baby is a witch, the child of Marigold Rose, one of our own. She will need training.”

The Willow Witch spluttered, the noise sounding remarkably like one of her ever-present potions brewing in the background.

“Goodbye, Eva” Bella said, and with a gust that made the candles in Evangeline’s cottage flicker, she disappeared.


	2. The Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nori meets some new friends. ^.^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter three! I guess I’m committed now.

The Nightshade Witch stared down at the squalling thing in her arms with a look that could turn the most fearsome of trolls into a quibbling mess. 

“What am I to do with a thing like you?” 

The child in her arms cooed, dribbling a bit down her chin.

Bella sighed. “That is no answer, dear.” Gingerly moving a few of her ominous 'curiosities' out of the way on a shelf; she was pleased when none of them caused the untimely end of her desk or her tower. Gently, she set the girl down. “What am I to call you?” 

With another sigh, she turned towards the pile of request letters for magic items from the town nearby. “Maybe that tavern girl will have an idea…” as she muttered, her eye was caught by one of her well-read leather-bound books beside her collection of oddities.

She grabbed it and flipped through the story. “Celestine…” she glanced at the girl staring at her with her large eyes and placidly sucking a corner of her swaddling blanket. “No. Gwanwyn? Definitely not. Noribelle?” Another glance. “Yes, I should think that will do nicely.” She smiled, an almost condescending little smirk. “Hello, Nori.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Noribelle was about five when she first encountered her big sister Bella’s best, and only, friend. 

She had been sent through the forest on a small deer trail to collect a special kind of mushroom that Bella needed for a curse, and had promptly wound up by a lake and gotten quite lost.

Being raised by the Nightshade Witch, she was quite the resourceful little girl, and so she was not crying, but looking for a landmark to guide her home. As she was looking, she saw a woman kneeling by the water. The woman raised her head and, seeing the girl walking over, she smiled.

“Good afternoon! What brings you here?”

“Excuse me miss” said Nori, politely. She had, of course, seen the people who sometimes visited her sister to ask for magic, but she had always been bundled upstairs quickly, and so, was unsure of how to address such a person as this. “Do you know the way to Nightshade’s tower?”

The young woman blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“My big sister Bella. Do you know the way to her tower?” The woman broke into a huge grin.

“What is your name, young lady?” Nori grinned back at her, showing a gap-toothed smile. “I’m Nori!”

“Well, let’s get you back home then, Nori.” Her eyes glittered with barely concealed mirth.

“Okay!” Nori exclaimed brightly. She didn't know there were nice people other than her big sister Bella! This would be fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bella looked out the window of her tower from where she was filling some request letters. The girl was late. A fond huff escaped her lips and she gently shook her head. She had half a mind to send Anwin out to look for her. But before she could do anything past pick up her quill again, there was a soft knock and her door opened. The witch looked up boredly, but brightened up considerably when she saw the tavern girl from the babblebrook inn and Nori enter, setting their respective baskets by the doorway. “Hello dears!” she greeted. “Isn’t this a welcome sight.” She added, a hint of the old sarcasm creeping into her voice.

“Nice to see you too, Bella.” the young woman accompanying Nori drawled. “Is this why I haven’t seen you in so long?”

“Yes, yes, dear. Nori, would you put the mushrooms you gathered on the shelf with my ingredients?” replied Nightshade, not really paying attention. 

“Now really.” fired the tavern girl with a smile, watching as Nori scampered off. “How old is she? And why are you sending her on errands so far away?” She added as an afterthought, “And where did you even find a child?”

“Oh, she is the daughter of another witch who was caught up in a mess involving dark magic and the Queen. Seeing as no one else volunteered, I am raising her to be a witch. She is really quite a dear, even if the constant questions are quite dreadful. Would you like some tea?”

The girl gaped, a small laugh escaping her, despite her best efforts. “Crumpets, I swore I’d stop stress laughing last time I saw you” she muttered. “Does she have any friends her age?”

Upon seeing the blank look given to her by the witch, she blinked. “Bella… Does she even know anyone her own age?”

“I did not find it necessary” Bella huffed. “The creatures in the mountains are company enough.”

“No, Bella. A girl that age needs a friend or two” she smiled brightly, “to keep them from turning out as sour as you. I’ll come by in a week and take her to town with me to meet some children there”

Upon seeing Nightshade bristle, she clucked. “I will say goodbye to her now, and be back in a week to pick her up for a few days,” She stood up, and heading to the back of the room, she called over her shoulder “And I will brook no nonsense or dilly-dallying! She is coming, even if I have to kidnap her myself!”

Bella shook her head. “What _fun._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmm.... I wonder what shenanigans will ensue next... See you whenever I decide to publish the next chapter 0u0
> 
> Constructive criticism makes me happy!


	3. A Visit to Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nori goes to town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I’m crap at updating XP  
> Thank you so much to mintjuleptea for your kind comment, they truly are writer fuel \\(“0u0”)/

A week later, Nori was nervous. She had heard many things about the town, the villagers, and humans in general from Bella. Needless to say, they had not exactly been redolent of glowing praise. The one positive thing she knew was that sometimes, when she thought Nori couldn’t see her, Big Sister Bella would get a faraway look in her eyes while staring out the window. She would smile and huff an almost-laugh, and whisper about an inn. Nori always wanted to find the place that made her big sister happy.

Nori was startled out of her thoughts by a shout from down the stairs.

“Nori! The tavern girl will be here! If you are to go on this silly expedition, you can’t be unprepared! Bring your things down!”

Nori glanced around her room. It was a circular thing, taking up a level of the small tower. “Coming!” She shouted down to Nightshade. She threw her gaze to her bed by the window, making sure the furs were in order and that everything was put away. Satisfied, she grabbed her travel satchel and practically flew down the stairs.

Upon seeing the girl, Bella fixed her with an appraising stare. “Very well, dear,” she mused. “Now, take these for strength,” she fastened an amulet around Nori’s neck, “and should any of those horrid creatures-“

She was cut off by the tower door slamming open. Nori yelped as a small bronze sphere exploded with a loud pop in front of her face.

“Oops! I should remember by now to not do that here! Sorry!” A cheerful figure strolled through the door into the tower. “Nori, was it? Ready to go?”

Bella fixed the other woman with a glare capable of melting iron and continued. “Should any of those horrid creatures hurt you…”

“I know! Ten drops of blood! ‘Bye Big Sister Bella!” Nightshade gave a long-suffering sigh and a wry smile as Nori bounded to the door. 

“Well then!” the innkeeper chirped. “We’re off!”

“Yes, yes. Goodbye, dear,” Bella watched them go, really only pretending to absorb herself in a pile of scrolls.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“We’re really going to town?” questioned Nori once they were out of sight of the dark tower. “Isn’t everyone positively horrid there? Are there pixies? What’s a “tavern?’ What’s your name?”

The older woman chuckled warmly. “Insatiable, aren’t you,” she pursed her mouth in thought. “Yes, we’re going to town. No, Bella is just prickly. Yes, and they steal everything, so hide anything shiny in a secure pocket. It’s actually an inn. And my name is Bridgette.” She grinned down at the young girl again. “Does that sate your hunger for knowledge for now?”

Much abashed, Nori gazed at her feet. “Big Sister Bella says I ask too many questions,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no! Never!” Bridgette gasped. “Always ask questions! You know,” she whispered conspiratorially, “I have two younger brothers, and they ask even more questions than you.”

Nori’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. “Really?” Bridgette nodded solemnly. 

“Really” she agreed. Bumping the girl with her hip, she smiled ruefully. “It will be nice having another girl around for once” Letting her eyes drop to Nori’s dress, she exclaimed “Does Nightshade only give you black clothing? It is absolutely too dreary a look for a bright girl like you! After we get you settled in, first stop, haberdashery!”

“Yeah!” Nori exclaimed happily, all solemness forgotten.

~~~~~~~~~~~

After depositing Nori’s scant possessions on a bed in Bridgette’s inn and acquiring some (notably) non-black dresses, trousers and other articles of clothing from the odd, yet mostly helpful haberdasherer, a cheerful innkeeper and a slightly overwhelmed Nori found themselves in the Harbington town square. Nori was feeling a little strange, but not altogether bad in a yellow checkered dress, and was gazing curiously at the shops, stalls, carts, and more people than she had seen in her short life all around her.

“Now then, Nori,” Bridgette stated seriously, getting down to business. “Would you like to meet some kids your age?”

Nori stared up at her with large eyes. She had never seen anyone like her, only read about them in Nightshade’s storybooks, and so in her mind, other children were a bit like a rare mythical beast - always spoken and heard of, but altogether fictional. “Really?” she inquired, with a nervously hopeful expression.

“Oh, yes,” Bridgette replied solemnly. “Bronn lives just over there - remind me how old you are, Nori?”

At that, Nori paused. Birthdays were not a big deal in Nightshade’s tower, only celebrated with a dinner of Nori’s choosing and an envelope sealed in gold wax on her furs when she went to sleep. “Six!” she proclaimed.

“So Bronn is but three years older! Wonderful!” The innkeeper pursed her lips, thinking. “And I believe that Guinevere is a mere year or two younger. Would you like to meet her?”

Somehow, Nori’s eyes got even larger. “Yes!”

~~~~~~~~~~~

A day later found Nori hiding behind the skirts of a very amused Bridgette, staring wide-eyed at two children and their mothers gathered in the inn’s great hall.

One of the children, an equally-shy-looking boy, was prodded by his mother to greet Nori. He stretched out a hand, and mumbled a quick “g-greetingsI’mBronn” and scurried back to his mother. The other child, a very young girl who was getting noticeably fed up with this tomfoolery, stomped up to Nori and stuck out her hand. 

“I’m Guinevere, but you can call me Gwen. This is Bronn. This is my mother, and she is his mother. You’re Nori, and do you really live with that smelly witch in the mountains?”

The innkeeper gave a shocked little gasp, but Nori stepped out from her skirts, a startled and slightly enraged look on her face. “Big Sister Bella isn’t smelly!” 

“But momma said-“ she was interrupted by her mother. “Please, Gwen-”

Ignoring them, Nori stomped over to Bronn, rage overpowering any shyness. “Well WE’RE going to go have fun over here. Bronn doesn’t think Bella’s smelly,” she glanced at the boy, who seemed like he was not exactly happy with being pulled from the safety of his mother. “Do you?”

“No…” he replied cautiously. 

“Good.” Nori proceeded to drag the poor boy to a bookshelf that Bridgette’s teenage younger brothers had shown her. The two quickly discovered a kind of camaraderie in books of creatures of the wild, ignoring Guinevere. After a while, the girl, growing tired of being ignored, slunk over and bowed her head.

“I’m sorry. Friends?” Nori cocked her head in thought before agreeing.

“Sure!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for kudos and comments :)


	4. The Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nori decides she wants another companion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I suck at updating lol. But I might be putting another chapter more soon than this last one came out. Possibly. Oh well, we’ll see what comes.

Eight years later, and visits to town were a well-established routine to Nori. 

Bella had grown accustomed to the idea that once per moon, give or take, her charge would skip off to “fraternize with the humans”, as she so succinctly put it. 

But this time was different. Because her air headed, pea-brained, absolutely idiotic madwoman of a protegé wanted a dragon. A dragon! Of all creatures, why a dragon!? Anwin was surely enough company, especially along with that cat Nori had found and insisted upon raising. And still, that had not stopped her young companion from appearing in front of her work table and requesting, with a completely false innocence, to add another creature to their collection. Nightshade refused to admit any bias on her part, from her personal history with dragons was influencing her opinion on the matter. 

“Bella?”

Oh yes, she still needed to give an answer. That charming façade would never work on her, the mistress of night, the conjurer of shadows!

Nori widened her eyes a small amount, tilted her head just right. “Please?”

Bella’s iron resolve shattering was almost audible, like the cracking of a stone in a forge.

“Very well,” she demurred. “But YOU get to take care of it, and should it make a mess or destroy anything, I will hold you, and only you responsible”

Nori had the audacity to grin. “Thank you, Big Sister Bella!” She practically floated out of the door before Nightshade could change her mind.

This charming creature would be her demise one day, Bella knew.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Afternoon in the town that day found Nori and Guinevere sitting atop a hill overlooking Harvington, sucking on some honey candy. They were waiting for Bronn, who had been roped into helping to care for his two younger sisters while his father was mending the roof of his house. Gwen had grown from a small, angry five-year-old into quite a tall, beautiful young woman. However, that effect was currently being ruined by a slouch and an almost comically proportioned pout.

“Uuugh!!! The Nightshade Witch lets you get a DRAGON, and I can’t even get a measly kitten? I swear, my parents let me have NOTHING!”

“Your father is dreadfully allergic, is he not?” commented Nori dryly, by now used to her friend’s dramatics. “And it’s not like you even have to share anything with siblings or the like.”

“It must be so nice up there in the mountains…” Gwen mused, ignoring the older girl. “You never have to worry about nosy neighbors or worried family… as if we ever do anything FUN that would warrant worry,” she glared pointedly. “Family is but a burden sometimes.”

“At least you have one,” Nori muttered, dejectedly. “I love Bella, and I have Aunt Eva, but my mother died when I was very small, and I never knew my father. They’re not my real family.”

“Nori! No, I’m so sorry! You know I didn’t mean it like that! Please, I’m grateful for what I have, I really am! They’re just so… argh, sometimes, you know?” She flapped her hands uselessly, trying to reassure her friend.

Nori sucked contemplatively on her candy, and gave a small smile. “I know. Don’t worry, okay? Oh, is that Bronn?” 

Looking over the crest of the hill, Gwen saw a small figure on the path to the top.

“I believe so… oh dear, he seems to have brought the baby with him… I fear that his mother is seeking more help for his sisters,” she gasped dramatically and stared Nori in the face, eyes huge. “I fear it is too late for me! Run! Save yourself before she gets you too!” And, she added as an afterthought, “Show me the dragon later!” Waving cheerily, Nori watched her go flying down the hill, stumbling dramatically. She saw Bronn give a wave in return, and, satisfied, she trudged off in the opposite direction to Maybell’s menagerie.

~~~~~~~~~~~

A cacophony of squawks and grumbles, along with a gust of heated air that smelled of many small, warm bodies and heady spices greeted Nori as she entered. The cozy, honey-colored wooden furnishings reflected the soft candlelight, and accented the various furry, scaly and leathery items, creatures and books strewn about haphazardly through the front room of the menagerie. She had been here a few times before, collecting supplies for Lord Edgar Whiskers, First of his Name, a fluffy black cat she had found as a kitten several years prior. After gazing around once, she took a single step…

...And fell painfully forward, barking her elbows on the floor. 

Hearing the crash, Maybell swooped into the room, her bronze goggles perched haphazardly over her permanently timid-looking face. “Oh my, I am ever so sorry, I swear I’ve been trying to get them to stop tying shoelaces together.” 

She paused her fretting and looked at Nori, who had gotten to her feet by now. “Excuse me, who are you again? I never forget a face. Except when I do. Wait a second…” she squinted intensely at the girl’s face through her thick goggles. “Nori!” Her whole face lit up in recognition. “How is Lord Whiskers?”

Nori smiled, inwardly chuckling at the force of nature that was Maybell. “Oh he’s fine, I even caught him on Bella’s lap while she was working one day,” she smiled at the memory. “But actually what I’m here for is-”

“No, no, wait, I can guess,” Maybell interrupted. “You are here for…” she scrutinized the poor girl intensely “A pair of socks! ...No, no that isn’t it. The only socks here are mine and,” she looked up, her whole face a question, “yours? I would hope that you have suitably warm footwear, as cold toes are simply horrible, and should not be inflicted upon anyone. Would you care to inform me on the comfort of your toes?”

Nori, by now thoroughly amused, watched the shopkeeper give a small shake of her head. “But, oh my, I am getting rather sidetracked. Would you mind enlightening me to the purpose of your presence here?”

Nori grinned. “A dragon!”

“Oh my! Yes! Of course! You know, I had a traveler here not too long ago that also purchased a dragon egg. We have a large selection for you to choose from today.”

“One that is most likely to hatch within the year, please,” Nori stated.

“Yes, yes, let me think… Ah! How about this beautiful girl! She held up a dark-colored egg that was exuding a gentle heat and sparkled in the light.

“No, I suppose not,” she muttered, after some thought. “Oh!” An expression of a striking epiphany hit her face. “I know!” She started extinguishing the candles in the room, turning the room dark. “You live close, so we could keep tabs on her,” she muttered. Once the room was darkened to her satisfaction, she gingerly lifted a large, brightly glowing egg that gave off a pleasant heat. Nori felt a warm feeling wash over her heart, like sitting in front of a warm fire. “We know almost nothing about this girl. She was found under the ground in the mountains by a colleague of mine… yes, you may touch her. That’s right,” she cleared her throat and continued. We do not know when she may hatch, but she seems to be averse to light. You would keep her under the ground, maybe in a large pot in front of a hearth”

She glanced up at Nori’s enraptured face. “It seems you have found a match! Wonderful!” 

“Oh, yes” Nori breathed, enraptured by the mysterious egg.

“Splendid! Shall we discuss care items then…”

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, the sun rose on Nori sitting upon the same hill overlooking the town as yesterday. However, on this day, she had a medium-sized wooden box on her lap, and was easily conversing with Bronn.

They were waiting for Guinevere this time, who had promised them the morning special from the Moss Drop Tea Shop and had yet to return. 

“So she really knows nothing about your egg?” the boy inquired, peering at the box.

“Oh yes. It will be quite interesting to see what hatches, don’t you think?” 

Bronn grunted in reply, still heavily scrutinizing the box as if to discern the contents by simply staring hard enough at the outside. After a while, he seemed to give up and looked Nori in the eyes. “So you’re leaving today?”

“Yes. I have to get this girl home!” Nori laughed, looking at the egg in her lap.

“Pity. I was hoping to explore that spot we found last time in the forest.” He sighed, looking straight ahead. “Next time, then”. 

Nori smiled at him. “Yeah. Next time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I should create a ship :) I’m debating whether to or not, seeing as I’ve never written romance. Or had any experience myself. :/
> 
> My babies are growing up... *Single proud tear* Thank you so much for reading, and many thanks also to the amazing Max for being supportive and letting me beta their work.


	5. The Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nori and Belladonna have some bonding time, and a certain dragon makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s here! Sorry it’s been a few... months... I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t have the whole “updating” and “writing” things down. ┐(‘～` )┌
> 
> A HUGE thank you to everyone who left a comment, as my friend can tell you, I get giddy and freak out over every one. ( ื▿ ืʃƪ)
> 
> This chapter is brought to you by Sertraline, procrastination and formatting errors. (⊙ヮ⊙)

Nori gazed despondently at the dragon egg in its earth-filled pot by the hearth.

Three weeks. It had been three weeks, and the egg was still taking its precious time. 

She had expected this when she agreed to take on an unknown egg, she really had, but merely _imagining_ the wait and the harsh reality of the situation were completely separate entities.

She sighed, getting to her feet and, with one last hopeful glance at the large pot by the hearth, she headed down up to Nightshade’s room on the top floor of the dark tower.

Nightshade was running a brush through her long, dark hair when she heard a knock on her door. “Come in!” she called, disrupting the fluffy cat lounging by her side on the bed. Lord Edgar Whiskers, First of his Name gave her a disgruntled look and hopped off the bed to the floor, where he began washing his paws and rather pointedly ignoring her.

Bella could _understand_ this cat on a spiritual level. 

Not like she would ever let anyone know that. She had a reputation to maintain.

The witch watched as her morose looking protegé sulked her way through the door, and inwardly crowed. “Hello dear. The creature you begged me ever so persistently for. Has it declined to arrive?” she asked, only partially attempting to mask her smugness at watching Nori splutter.

However, her enjoyment was short-lived, as instead of the indignant retort she expected, she only got a small huff and a downcast look for her troubles.

“Yeah” Nori sighed, dejectedly.

Taking pity upon the sorry girl in front of her, Nightshade patted the bed next to her. “Come here, child. Let me brush your hair,” she suggested. Nori took the space next to her sister and sighed as Bella pulled the brush gently through her hair.

“Why does it have to take so _long,_ Bella?” Nori asked. “I know I have to be patient, but I’m ready for my dragon _now_ ” Bella hummed, using her fingers to tease out a knot from the younger girl’s hair. “I feel like there is something else driving this impatience. Am I right, dear?” Nori glanced down. “No…” she paused, considering. “...yes.”

“Hmm. Is it about your mother?” Bella guessed. From the wince she saw, she surmised she had hit her mark. “Nothing to be ashamed of, dear,” Nori slumped, then sat up again when Bella tapped her shoulder. “Don’t slouch, dear”

The older woman resumed her brushing. It was a while before Nori spoke up again. “I guess… I guess I just want someone for _me,_ ” she swallowed before continuing. “I love you, you know? But you’re not my mother. You’re not even my real sister. Eva is nice, but you two aren’t even ever in the same _room!_ I only get to see Gwen and Bronn maybe twice per moon, and Lord Whiskers is a cat! I just want someone who can communicate with me, someone who is my family. Do you understand me?” she looked over her shoulder, her large eyes full of emotion. 

Bella sighed, reflecting on how very less than ideal her family life had been before this bubbly whirlwind of a girl had showed up in her tower. “I understand, perfectly, dear.” Giving one final stroke with the brush, she gave a satisfied little hum. “There” she put her arms around the girl’s shoulders in a brief hug. “If you are feeling better now, I believe I heard one of your little friends sneaking outside. I think they are convinced they are being clever. Go see them, would you?”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello?” Nori called, turning around the corner of the tower. “Who’s there?” Bronn jumped, guiltily. He had been worried about his friend, but the tower was _intimidating._ He had visited exactly once, when he, Gwen and Nori were younger. Nightshade had not-so-subtly leered at the children, and offered them drinks in a sickly-sweet voice. He shuddered at the memory. But, his friend was in trouble, and never let it be said Bronn turned his back on a friend!

Even if he _was_ considering it now. 

Nori rounded the corner and came face-to-face with the nervous brunette. “Oh! Bronn! What are you doing here?” she asked. 

“Well, you hadn’t been to town in a while, and Gwen and I got worried…” he glanced behind her nervously. “Say, your sister wouldn’t happen to be here, would she?” 

Nori felt a small smile growing on her lips despite any residual despondency. “Don’t worry, she’s not going to come out,” she glanced down and kicked a rock under her boot. “Thank you for worrying about me,” she added in a small voice.  
“Of course!” the boy exclaimed, a little worried at seeing the usually ebullient Nori seeming down. “Willow got wind that you had a dragon egg. I think she’s planning something for when she hatches. And miss Pippetwhistle packed a care box for you!” He handed over a good-sized tin that rattled satisfyingly as it changed hands. In a softer voice he added, “everyone misses you back in Harvington”

Touched, Nori felt some of her sadness lifting. “I’ll be sure to visit again! Just as soon as I’m sure I won’t miss my little girl’s entrance into the world,” she tilted her head, considering her last statement. “I sound a little like an expectant father, don’t I?” Bronn grinned, glad to hear the girl sounding a little more like herself again. “I’ll just put this away, and than we can go looking for creatures in the woods, shan’t we? I think I can stand being away from her for now, and we won’t go far”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Bronn looked around Nori’s room with the kind of caution one normally reserves for situations such as tiptoeing around an active volcano, or disturbing a particularly unpleasant dragon. He had planned on giving Nori Mrs. Pippetwhistle’s package, making sure the girl was still among the living, maybe chatting for a bit, and leaving. Without seeing her sister. And certainly without setting foot in the dark tower. Yet here he was, in her room of all places, standing awkwardly up against the wall by the doorway, desperately trying to not touch any of the particularly volatile-looking items cluttering the shelves of her otherwise impeccably clean room. Curse Nori and her remarkably persuasive ways.

“So, how’s Gwen doing?” asked Nori from across the room, breaking the nervous boy from his reverie. “Seeing as I haven’t been around and all”

“Oh, she’s doing fine… She insisted on watching my sisters while I was here” he responded, noticing the pot of earth partially covered by a checkered cloth in front of the fire. “Say, is that the little girl who’s been causing you to hole up in here like this?”

Satisfied with the placement off the gift box, Nori opened it and turned around. “Oh, yes! She’s been causing such a ruckus, and she’s not even born yet! Biscuit?”

Bronn stepped further into the room and took the proffered treat. “So… creature hunting, then?” 

“Oh yes! There have been some pixies and other little beasties around the woods here that have been taking all the prime ingredients Bella needs for curses before we can even get to them. Shall we go?”

The boy, quite eager to get out of the tower and far, _far_ away from any possible Nightshade encounters, nodded.

“Oh! Just a moment, I think I have something here!” Nori exclaimed, turning to a large chest on the floor, away from the door. “I swear I put it in here somewhere…”

Bronn glanced over to her, then back at the hearth. Doing a quick double-take, he noticed something slightly… off about the pot in front. He swallowed the last of his biscuit with a gulp.

“Uuh… Nori?”

“I _had_ some spare things in here to use as pixie bait” she mumbled, not looking back. 

“No, it’s not that…” he responded, more than a little nervously. “Nori… is the egg _supposed_ to be smoking?”

“What?” Nori turned around.

The cloth covering the pot and the treasure therein, as if sensing her scrutiny, cheerfully caught on fire.

Nori screamed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Nori flailed about, trying to put out the blaze currently putting up residence in the middle of her room, she heard a soft yet authoritative clunking of shoes from the stairs. Her door creaked open, and a soft whispering of many voices filled the room. The fire went out. 

“Hello, Nori.” Nightshade spoke. Her voice turned flat. “Human. Care to explain why it sounds like someone decided to murder a cat in here?”

“Big Sister Bella!” Nori wailed. “My egg caught on fire!”

“What?” Belladonna’s face snapped to the hearth, where a thin tendril of smoke was still rising. “Boy! Get a bucket of water, some spare furs, and a chunk of dried meat! Venison!” Bronn only stared back, gaping. “Did I say wait?” Bella tsked. “Humans.”

“Bella? What’s going on?” peeped Nori from the floor where she had fallen to her knees.

The older witch graced her with a rare smirk. “You, my dear, get to meet your little girl today”

As Nori processed what she had just heard, Bronn came huffing back up the stairs with a wooden bucket and a bundle wrapped in cloth. “I couldn’t find any spare furs…” he puffed, face red from running up the stairs.

“We’ll use one from Nori’s bed.” Nightshade decided. “Now, dear. Get over here, wouldn’t you? She can’t hatch inside a pot”

The girl broke from her trance and rushed over, pouring the egg out gently along with the earth from the pot. She hissed, having to set the glowing egg down as it burned her hand. “It’s cracking!” A small golden head poked out from the fissure in the shell, its eyes closed and scaly head coated in mucus. 

“Get the meat” Nightshade ordered, “when she comes out, feed her and wash her off”

Nori grabbed the meat from a curious Bronn with a faraway look in her eyes. “Oh, Bella, she’s perfect!”

As the small creature struggled out of its hard prison, Nori held out the dried meat. After many long, hard minutes of shoving, the exhausted creature flopped onto the furs placed under it and accepted the food, gulping it down with astonishing voracity.

Nori carefully lifted the furs and gingerly started to clean the fluids from the small body in her arms. As she gazed into the dragon’s tired golden eyes, she felt a prickling of unconditional love, and sleepiness in the back of her mind.

Bronn and Nightshade gazed on from behind her, in wonder and smugness respectively, as Nori began crooning softly to the creature in her arms.

“Welcome to the world, my love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I popped on over to the Moss Drop Tea Shop for some raspberry chamomile with a side of Plot Device! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
> 
> This chapter is unbeta-d, so any and all mistakes are my own.
> 
> I love comments! Send me dragon name ideas, pointers, etc. Send me what you ate for breakfast, I will be just as ecstatic. 
> 
> Love you all and have a good day/night!


	6. Cake and a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nori, her dragon, and Gwen pay a visit to one Willow Witch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovelies! Finally, we see the Willow Witch! I had planned to see her in chapter three, but Nori had other ideas. -_- But finally, here we are with a proper Willow scene.
> 
> A HUGE thank you to everyone that has read my little story here, left kudos and nice comments! I read them all and try to respond to everyone!
> 
> I think this will end up being something like eight chapters long, but we’ll see how it turns out.
> 
> A little insight into my writing: the working title of the doc this is on is “RPG ASMR fanfic cuz I’m a nerd” lol. No idea how that translated into something half-okay-looking.
> 
> Also, thank you, Kenzie, for this beautiful contribution: "As Eva continued her work with the potions, sHE HEARD A BANG AND THE BIG BAD WOLF CAME IN AND ATE THE GRANDMA AND sorry I’m lost"
> 
> Best beta EVER.

Two days later, Nori was on a path through the woods with a small dragonet, now named Alpina, holding her neck hostage in a stranglehold, and a very enthusiastic friend who was adamantly refusing to tell her where they were going. Nori had not the heart to tell Gwen that, having practically grown up on these trails, she already knew they were going to see the Willow Witch. 

“-And I can’t believe that Bronn of all people got to see Alpina hatching!” the younger girl chattered on from behind Nori, “I was going to be the one who brought you mrs. Pippetwhistle’s basket, but he just seemed so stressed with all those sisters of his near bouncing off the walls… No, don’t slow down now, we’re almost there.” amused, Nori kept walking. “Anyway, this is how I am repaid for my generosity! By missing the hatching- oh, here we are”

Through the trees, Nori could indeed see the form of the Willow Witch’s cozy cottage. As the path curved into the clearing, the familiar, spicy aroma of herbs mixed with the scent of sage smoke wafted through the air, as the late afternoon sunlight cut through the trees, creating little dapples underfoot. The dragonet loosened her tail on Nori’s neck somewhat, craning her snout to sniff the air. Her curiosity prickled at the back of the girl’s mind, a familiar presence.

Gwen enthusiastically pulled Nori through the door, her excited touch electric on her skin. “We’re here!”

Evangeline looked up from where she was crushing some herbs behind her table. Her blonde hair glowed angelically in the candlelight, contrasting with the dark coloring smudged around her eyes. “Hello, my dears,” she greeted in her soft voice.

“She prepared you some charms!” Piped up Gwen, still not letting go of her hold on Nori’s arm. “For Alpina and such… And I made a cake!”

Willow smiled at the younger girl indulgently. “I did. Gwen, be a dear and grab the treat while I show Nori the gifts? Thank you, dear child.”

Gwen released Nori’s arm with a squeeze and a quick, yet blinding smile and bustled off to a back room. Evangeline watched her go with a small smile, then turned back in her seat to face Nori.

“She is a good friend to you.” It was less a question than a statement. “Her kindness is something you would do well to keep around.” Her eyes, framed by dark makeup, stared at the girl’s face intently for a few seconds, then broke into a soft smile. “But… you are not here for advice, are you? Come, give me a hug, and I’ll show you a few things I prepared. I found them useful when…” she trailed off for a second and her smile fell a little. “...When my dragon was young.”

Alpina chirruped a little as Nori went to give her aunt a hug. As they drew apart, she craned her neck as if in anticipation of gifts. They watched as Eva pulled a small bottle off her desk. “A cream for her skin. Young ones like this lovely girl grow quickly, and this will prevent her from becoming too itchy.” She slid the bottle across the desk to Nori. “I also have a magical stone for healthy growth, and some berries she will be sure to love. And I believe that that wonderful girl has brought us a cake”

True to her words, Gwen burst in from the back with a pile of what Nori _hoped_ was frosting, with possibly some cake underneath. “It turned out a little funny, but it should taste alright!” settling next to Nori, she placed it on the desk. “I swiped the recipe from Bridgette when she was busy with a guest” she whispered conspiratorially, to the other girl’s delight.

~~~~~~~~~~~

True to her word, the cake did taste quite good, despite its rather sorry appearance. Somewhere along the way, Willow had produced some raspberries which Alpina had taken and was munching on with pleased gusto. 

Swallowing around her last mouthful of cake, Nori glanced at Willow and Gwen, with a mournful gleam in her eyes.

“I’m afraid Big Sister Bella wants me back before sundown,” she commented, looking at the rapidly pinking sky. “She said I’d be learning about stars and spirits and whatnot tonight”

“Oh, well then you simply _must_ let me walk you back home!” Gwen exclaimed, gulping the last of her cake with an unladylike slorp. Exuberantly, she rushed to her feet and bounded around the table to grasp Nori’s arm with an octopus-like grip. From her perch on the table, Alpina squawked indignantly as Gwen’s elbow came dangerously close to grazing her snout. 

“Okay then,” Nori snorted, not bothering to untangle her friend’s grip on her arm, instead electing to scoop up Alpina with her other arm and deposit the still-grumbling dragon on the other girl’s head. “Goodbye, aunt Eva! Thank you for the items!”

“Safe journey, my child” Evangeline replied warmly, observing the two’s actions with a fond smile. As the girls headed out the door and into the woods beyond, she turned back to the table. “Such wonderful children” she murmured to herself, saying a quick incantation to clean and put away the plates, before turning back to crush some herbs. She chuckled slightly, thinking about the girls’ visit. As the witch continued her work with the potions, the sky outside continued to paint itself in brilliant rosy hues, and the forms of two girls and a dragon, still on one girl’s head, headed into the steadily-darkening woods. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

As they headed, arm-in-arm, away from the cottage, Nori felt Gwen shifting her stance a little uncomfortably.

“Nori, dear?” the other girl piped up, cautiously, “Would you possibly mind taking Alpina here back?” Feeling the dragon resettle smugly, she added hastily “not that I don’t love her, I do, but she’s getting a little… heavy?” The last word trailed off in a squeak as a golden dragon face appeared, upside-down, in her view. “Yes, you.”

Nori chuckled at the sight, and outright snorted at what the small one projected into her thoughts. “She says to be more cautious with the placement of your elbows around poor, unsuspecting and delicate snouts”

Gwen went cross-eyed trying to focus on the face lowered accusingly before her nose. “I apologize, Alpina. My elbows will be under my control from now on!” Alpina huffed once, sending her spicy breath in a puff on the girl’s face, and grudgingly hopped over to rest on her usual place on Nori’s shoulder, gladly accepting some absent-minded head scritches. 

After a few minutes spent walking in companionable silence, Gwen spoke up again. “How has your life been recently? You haven’t been by to visit in simply _ages._ Has Nightshade been working you to death again? It seems terribly lonely, cooped up in that dreadful tower all the time”

Nori pursed her lips pensively before answering. “Oh… I could never be lonely there. I have Lord Edgar Whiskers, and Alpina of course…” she trailed off, giving the dragon a little pat on the head “And Bella is always there. I have been learning ever so much from her. I’m very close to her letting me contact the spirits. Although I think ‘close’ in Nightshade speak means a few years,” She paused thoughtfully, resting a finger mischievously on her lip. “You know, Bridgette has come calling quite a bit recently. She says she’s on a ‘quest for the perfect persimmon’ or some such excuse. Bella always sends me off for some reason or another when she arrives, though, so…”

Seeing the chance for a piece of intriguing gossip, Gwen eagerly latched on to the topic. “Ooh! You don’t think they are,” she looked around furtively, as if the woods might be full of prying ears, “courting? They would be _such_ a lovely couple, do you not think? My word, how do you think they met? You simply _must_ tell me all the details. I do believe I am owed, you know”

“Well,” the older grinned furtively,”I dare not speculate on the lives of others without their knowledge, but it would seem that way”

Gwen giggled, lost in the feeling of being let in on a secret one was not meant to know, the dense coils of her hair flaming like polished copper in the brilliant light of the setting sun. Nori found herself staring at that glorious color, mesmerized. Alpina chirruped softly from her perch on the girl’s shoulder, broadcasting tiredness into Nori’s mind. The three continued their walk through the sunset-dappled forest in comfortable silence only broken by the crunching of the leaf-litter underfoot.

~~~~~~~~~~

After shooing her errant charge’s friend away and closing the heavy wooden door to the tower, Nightshade gave a sweet smile to the girl behind her. Said girl gulped, trying with all her might to simply disappear through the shelves behind her, away from that smile.

“Nori, dear?” Bella said, winsomely.

The girl squeaked, responding with a shaky attempt at a confident smile. “Yes?”

“ _do_ try to keep your opinions on others to yourself. Gossiping is such a foul habit, you know”

“Yes, Bella”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've given up on trying to update with any sense of a sane schedule. All I can say is, I WILL finish this work, although it may take a while.


	7. A Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Circumstances change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter, transition chapter today. 
> 
> I always intended this story to be fluffy, but with some of the new(er) info and backstory, I had to add in some angst. (Sorry!)

Nori bounced through the dark door of the tower into the front room where Bella usually sat, crafting curses. Her footsteps echoed happily as she bounded up the stairs, Alpina bouncing jovially on her shoulder. 

“Bella!” she chirped, clattering into the softly-lit room where her sister spent a lot of her time, researching and crafting, and occasionally sleeping. “Bella, you won’t believe what Bronn and I found!” Spotting the dark figure of the older woman hunched at a desk by the window, she trotted over. “A real, live fairy… Bella?”

As her sister lifted her head, Nori gasped at her frazzled appearance. Her usually smooth and well-brushed hair was frizzy and unkempt, and stuck up in strange places, as if she had been running her long fingers through it. Her dark makeup was smudged, the artful lines under her eyes mussed and mixed with real tear tracks. Yet, in the midst of the disarray, her eyes blazed with a kind of true, bone-shaking rage that Nori had never seen on her sarcastic older sister. 

“Leave me,” the witch growled, terrible eyes flashing danger at her terrified charge.

Nori gulped, and attempted to squeak out a platitude to calm the beast looming before her. “What’s wrong Bella?”

If anything, this tremulous response only fed the rage consuming the woman before her. Hackles raised, she let out a subhuman growl, like a cornered bear. Nori looked down, noticing for the first time the crumpled paper held in one long-nailed fist. “Bella...“ she half-whispered, morbid curiosity overpowering self-preservation in her mind. “What’s that?”

Nightshade’s imposing stature seemed to draw into itself at that question. She ran her hand through her unkempt hair, smoothing it back, as her anger morphed from an all-consuming beast to an, if possible, even more frightening icy, controlled, sharp rage. She drew herself up in her chair to her full height, a haughty sneer twisting her features.

“This, my dear, is what happens if you dabble in the dark magics unprepared,” Her hands clenched and unclenched the abused paper as she spoke, “It is a matter I shall deal with on my own. Now, if you have nothing _else_ to say, I wish to attend to it in peace”

Nori swallowed hard and scurried backwards out of the room, closing the door and breathing a sigh of relief as those piercing eyes were no longer upon her. Rattled, she walked slowly back down the stairs, intending to go to a calm place to settle her nerves and calm Alpina, who was shaking and attempting to hide herself in the girl’s hair.

As she opened the door to the tower, squinting in the sudden sunlight, a fluttering in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Closing the door behind her with care, she reached out to grab the paper that had been affixed to the stone of the tower with a dagger. 

As she caught sight of the notice carefully inked onto the sturdy paper, her stomach dropped to her toes and Alpina, ever-conscious of her friend’s emotions, chirped fearfully. Nori stood, frozen stock-still, her eyes staring unbelievingly at the notice.

**WANTED**

**BY ORDER OF THE QUEEN**

**NIGHTSHADE WITCH**

**DEAD OR ALIVE**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No idea if this actually fits into the canon timeline, so let's just pretend it does. 
> 
> I have the first part of the next chapter written already, but IDK if that means it'll be up any earlier b/c I'm a lazy shit.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my firstborn fic and I’m still getting used to it. XD This is only partially beta’d and constructive criticism is welcome. Comments fuel me. Love you! <3


End file.
